Essay: Children learning

Children start learning the minute they’re born, the first 3 years of their life are crucial to development. Parents, health care professionals, and in this essay, especially educators help children grow to reach their fullest potential. When raising a child parents go through the tough choices that will determine their child’s life. When to start them in school? Where to go to school? What kind of school? This biggest difference in schools are public and private. One of the most common private schools especially in pre-k to 2nd grade is the Montessori. The formal definition for a Montessori type school is “a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood.”. This basically mean children are taught in a way that works and is tailored for them; scientifically. The biggest selling point for a Montessori school is the fact that children are encouraged to learn on their own terms. It is not a traditional classroom so kids can go at their own pace with without the restrictions of desks, a single teacher, and/or multiple age groups. In this type of school kids are encouraged to get up, walk around, and interact with their environment and other kids. Some would say that this type of learning is geared towards more hands on visual learns, but this is scientifically proven that most kids are originally hands on learns and that tactile learning is best for this age group. Scientists say that kids are wired to learn things naturally and just need the basic fundamentals to get started on their learning journey. In the Montessori they rarely have traditional test because everyone is at a different pace and not me single test is going to prove their skills. This all contradicts traditional public school, standardized way of doing things that is seen commonly around the world. In most school children go from 8 to 3 sitting in a desk all day, learning from a book, and writing. This standardized school is seen all around the world because they claim to have proven results. Although this may be true, there is no guarantee that this works for all students and we can not rely on one system to full fill the needs of every single student. Not every child learns the same and in order to realize that we need a different system to do so. We need to incorporate all the different aspects of learning in order to to see children succeed far beyond their school age and into adulthood. Such evaluation brings up the question: What is the effect of non-traditional, Montessori schooling on child and their future compared to standardized schools? Overall an analysis of psychological, social, and economic angles show that in order to effectively change the school system we must plan far ahead in the future in order to gradually create structured, effective schools for all children to learn. These new changes will ultimately help students in the long run by preparing them for taking on a job, family, or living on their own and just over all doing better in school by seeing better results in performance.
We’ve always been told that every child learns differently, so why isn’t there being something so that every student can learn the way they are meant to learn. In a Montessori school students learn in a mostly tailored way. They can learn at their own pace and at their own level. In a public school they are standardized to a structured curriculum, where they grades are determined by age and not intelligence. According to Maria Montessori, M.D. from the University of Rome, children learn better when they are in control. It is a way of learning where the child is the center, there are different ages involved, and teachers are just there encouragement. This type of learning is better for hands on learners to where the traditional schooling is more for auditory learners. This all leads back to the psychology, and how the child is “programmed”. In a study done by the Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing they found that students who went to Montessori schooling as children on average performed better on the psychological test than the students who have always attended public schools.
Despite criticism, studies show that the Montessori schooling improves learning outcomes, social, and emotional development. So why don’t we make all schools based off the Montessori method? In a study done by Science Magazine they found that with 2 different age groups both had significant results. “Montessori students [particularly those in the 5-year-old range] proved to be significantly better prepared for elementary school in reading and math skills than the non-Montessori children. They also tested better on “executive function,” and their ability to adapt to changing and more complex problems.” On the social and behavioral tests, researchers found that Montessori students were more likely to engage in “emotionally positive play” with peers of same and different age groups, were less hostile, and exhibited a “greater sense of justice and fairness.” (Merle Huerta) From an economic standpoint, transitioning all schools to Montessori would be very hard due to mostly the expense. First to even become a certified Montessori school you need to have the space to create the classroom following certain guidelines. Along with a certified classroom you also need not only certified teachers, but certified Montessori teachers. If you can get past those limitations, there is also the cost on families sending their children.
When a child is first learning, they get most of their social skills from interacting with other children; sharing, being social, making conversation, etc. As seen in Through the looking glass, Alice has a very vivid imagination and this causes conflicts with her kittens because they can not see eye to eye, one being whit and one black. This is the same with children when a child has such a vivid imagination that even the littlest thing like color can throw them off. So when a child is surrounded by others kids but in multiple age groups, how does that affect them? In a previously mentioned study done by Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing they also found that Montessori students socially performed better. In a point system test, former Montessori students got an average of 50% better scores in self-esteem and handling anxiety. According to Chattin McNichols, a former Montessori student, “Teachers promote inner discipline in children by letting students direct their own learning instead of uploading an outer discipline where teachers act as authoritarians, dictating to students how to behave and what to do”. He feels that with this structure he wa better prepared to carry on in his school career with more independence and leadership. Not only did he say this, but many other students in the study agreed that these traits helped them in years to come.
In order to have a fully effective school system you have to be able to see it from all different angles. In the street art source the art is the school system if you look at it in the way the artist want to you to see it, you see the whole big picture put together neatly, but in order to really understand how it came together you much look at the art from a different angle. That is how we should view the education system. If we take the time to look at it we will see all that parts that go into it. In order to create an effective schooling method we must break it down to be customized to each student. The school would be standardized around the country so that each child has a fair chance. It would have some aspects of Montessori, but with influences from the standardized public schools to include some structure. The ideal school would be divided into parts to create a unique opportunity for each student. In the Montessori they students are seen as individuals who are not placed somewhere and they have to keep up, but where they work at their own pace. The school would have no grades based off age, but levels that each student can work towards the next. Obviously like most new ideas there would some limitations. In order for this to work the city or country would have to be able to financially support the change. In countries where there is a very set culture, integrating these new ways of teaching maybe not be socially accepted.